Page 1 of Devil's Bargain

ONE

“Mom, you have to wake up and go to work!” I nudge her shoulder where she lies on the living room couch.

The curtains are drawn, and the room is dark.

She groans, pulling the blanket over her head. “Go away!”

The coffee table is littered with empty beer bottles, butt ends, and the dreaded eviction letter lies in the middle. I pick it up.

One week.

I nudge her shoulder again, harder this time. “Mom, you need to go to work!”

Nothing.

After pulling her blanket off, I stride over to the window and open the curtains. Not that it makes much difference on a gloomy day like today.

Mom stirs and sits up. She reaches for a packet of cigarettes, lights one up, and watches me through the tendrils of smoke. “I got fired, baby girl.”

It’s like listening to someone talk when you’re submerged in water. “You got fired?”

The tip of her cigarette sparks neon orange. She lifts her chin, exhaling a cloud of smoke. “That’s what I said, baby girl.”

As I approach her, I accidentally kick an empty bottle of vodka and it rolls across the floor. I hold the eviction letter up in the air. “Where are we going to live?”

Shrugging, she brings the cigarette to her lips again and takes a deep pull before stubbing it out in the overfilled ashtray. “Don’t you have school?” She stands up and tightens her dressing gown. “I have a migraine.”

I stare after her in disbelief as she walks out. Her depression has got a lot worse this year but we’re now one week away from being homeless, and she can’t even get out of bed?

I make my way into the kitchen and place the eviction notice down next to the stack of unpaid bills on the counter. My stomach growls as I root through the fridge and cupboards, reminding me that I haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon.

There’s no food.

I slam the cupboard closed, my eyes pricking with tears.

The next thing to go will be the heating and the warm water. Then what?

My gaze drifts to the drizzling rain outside just as Nina’s car comes to a stop on the curb. Her dark bob is visible through the rain-streaked window as she reapplies her lipstick in the rearview mirror.

I pick up my bag from the chair and rush outside, using it to protect me from the worst of the rain.

When I fall into the passenger seat and pull the door shut, Nina beams.

“Your backpack isn’t going to protect you from the frizz monster.”

I laugh, placing it down in the footwell.

We pull away from the curb.

“Crazy night last night, huh?” I comment, combing my fingers through my hair.

“You can say that again! What’s happening with you and Matt?”

I look away and stare out the window at the sheets of rain. “It’s just sex, Nina.”

Matt is one of my best friends. We hooked up not long ago, but despite what Nina seems to think, it’s just sex. I’m not in love with him, and he’s not in love with me.

“Just sex, you say?” Her smile is mischievous.

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